INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA JXa%TpI:
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RICHARD LYNN BX)cV
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland kI1{>vYD
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore b3HTCO-,fC
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of /\Y%DpG$
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a %~v76;H<
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of _tauhwu
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation Ul~}@^m]4}
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. MdTd$ 4J3
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples W2o8Fu
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the V44sNi
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed
"lnk
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally hcqmjqJ
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of [2fiHE
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies Zv7$epDUz
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean gQzJ2LU(
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained kHIQ/\3?Q
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature T;pn -
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by bU +eJU_%
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 cE8 _keR~
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. MsiC!j.-
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids NB6h/0*v
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 2*",{m
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest tZ{q\+h
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the %cjGeS6}
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high -r2qI
t
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been )bN
3-_
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn /n 3&e
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be :@4>}k*
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 4 >tYMyLt0
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial Jtk.v49Ad>
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ^} pREe c=
available and are the subject of this report. gSo(PW)
METHOD L5N{ie_
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by _/w-gL{
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. /
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The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a Q8/0Cb/
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from X72X:"
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given o4
OEA)k)=
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables R"kE5:
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ;cHI3V
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the @IKe<{w
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). kk7:A0._
RESULTS aZ
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for /v ;Kb|e
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which w!9W Cl]9M
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is (/P&;?j
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the arH\QPaka'
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the xTawG?"D
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ny?m&;^r:
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British oP`M\KXau
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the !?-5hh1\
British standardisation sample. N %/DN
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH (w:ACJ[[
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD DO,&Foh\
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. *gpD4c7A\
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means M{kh=b)V
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. e ~,'|~
C5
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of MldL"*HW:
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white JGNxJ S<]
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an `j"G=%e3.
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 0*M}QXt
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 7;-i_&vws
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by }c#/1J7
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater :H8L (BsI
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically vgp%;-p(
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. ML"P"&~u6
DISCUSSION ZJ}LnPr
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in "9T`3cM0
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States .t%Vx
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically -$|X\#R
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low $U.'K!B
living standards in China. ~ai'
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- X|B;>q
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by zMqEMx9
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than 4g^+y.,r_f
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & Gbm_xEPC
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ]mT}
\b
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half \osQwGPV
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 z7pXpy \
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this M4PUJZ]
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been +&8Ud8Q
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 2}C>{*}yQ
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). RvZ-w$E&?
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 1E_Ui1 [
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 TK?+O}v-]!
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Qi]Z)v{^
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back Gv3Fg[MA@c
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs kxf=%<l
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living +rO<'H:umJ
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be 6zZR:ej
expected to increase further. ?Pw\&q